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21 Jul 2015

Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeak - Maysaan

Whilst birding in the Taif area for the weekend of 3-4 Junly 2015 Phil
Roberts and I went to the Maysaan area about 130 kilometres south of Taif.
There are a few good looking valleys with fields and trees in this area and
around Bani Saad and this was good looking habitat for Arabian Golden-winged
Grosbeak. Although we had seen the species on our previous visit to Taif in
January 2015 we did not get good views and no photographs were taken so we
particularly wanted to see this species again. As a result we got to Bani Saad
before it was properly light and spent most of the day checking suitable areas
of habitat looking for the species. We managed to find a number of good looking
valleys with fields and trees and one of these we were lucky enough to find
three Arabian Golden-winged Grosbeaks. At least one was an adult and one a juvenile
with the adult seen feeding the youngster on a few occasions. The birds were
quite flighty and moved a number of times and never allowed close views but a
few photographs were obtained that although small in the picture were sharp and
usable. The birds were initially located by their odd contact calls and stayed
high in the trees, occasionally out of sight completely. They moved up the
valley often flying some distance between trees, following an adult that was
searching for food for the juvenile. Plenty of other species were seen in this
valley including Long-billed Pipits, Arabian Wheatears, Little Rock Thrushes,
Little Swift, Red-breasted Wheatear and three Bruce’s Green Pigeons.

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About The Blog

I hope you enjoy browsing my latest images & notes from the field, the majority are from Dhahran (eastern Saudi Arabia) as well as bird ringing in Bahrain. Most of the photographs are of birds but I will also include other interesting natural history shots when I take them.

About The Photographs

I am an amateur photographer who goes birdwatching and takes the occasional picture with birdwatching being my primary interest. I do birdwatch in an area that has good light for photogrpahy and manage to take quite a few photographs each day.

All photos on this blog are copyright and may not be copied or reproduced without my permission. Please ask if you would like to use any of my photographs for any reason.